For nearly half a century, the Elnabrees family has fled one war after another: Palestine, Kuwait, Iraq and, more recently, S ...

Sidebar: 'Manifest' ministry seeks to shape better men

By Pieta Woolley

Society

February 2016

About eight years ago, Rev. Scott Swanson attended a weekend-long class, part of his training to become a spiritual director. At the time, he was in his late 30s and fathering young children. The training was part of his evolution as a United Church minister; he’d served a three-point charge in Manitoba, explored prison chaplaincy and was working in congregational ministry on the West Coast. He was expecting new skills, in other words. Instead, he found himself and his work transformed.

The workshop leader split the students by gender one evening and sent the men off to practise the kinds of deep conversations they’d foster when accompanying others on their own spiritual journeys. To Swanson, speaking with other men in this way was totally new.

“I was amazed at the energy in the room and the feelings in me I’d never experienced before,” he says from his home in Langley, B.C. “At that point, I realized there’s something about men getting together as men for deep conversation that is really special, really empowering and really healing.”

What did they talk about? He doesn’t remember. Content wasn’t the magic here; it was the energy of an all-male room that captured his attention and his imagination.

It took him years and several more “aha” moments to make it happen, but last July, his pioneering men’s ministry project, Manifest, officially kicked off.

Now, it has a Facebook page and a website (www.manifestonline.org). It has a clear vision: “Manifest is a faith-based, theologically progressive initiative committed to shaping better men by helping them do their own soul work and participate in their own healing — for their own benefit and the benefit of those around them.” It has a tagline: “Better men for a better world.” And it has a couple of groups meeting already at churches around Vancouver, plus a few stand-alone weekend retreats planned for this spring.

Swanson is currently creating a resource for men’s ministry that can be used in congregations or independently; it will be available on the website soon. Researching men’s spiritual needs comes next, hopefully, if funding comes through.

What Manifest doesn’t have is stability. Finding money to sustain the project has been challenging, Swanson notes, though verbal support has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic. The Westminster Presbytery ProVision Fund is supporting part of the project’s first year, and he is waiting to hear back on other applications. So he works part time as the interim minister at Sunnyside United in Surrey, B.C., and part time launching Manifest. Figuring out how to foster innovative ministries is new both to him, he says, and to the wider church.

“What they [some men’s ministries] want is to take things back before feminism,” Swanson says. “Women are making huge strides in lots of areas, and men are losing the inherent privilege they once had. As a gender, we haven’t figured out what to do about that. So the question is, if that’s not the kind of masculinity we’re going to have, what is?”

The question isn’t theoretical. It’s pressing. Men, Swanson says, are socialized to be providers, but the strained 21st-century economy means that the option to be the sole providers for their families isn’t available to them. Also, traditional models of masculinity condone violence: most prisoners are male, as are most murderers (and most of the murdered).

“Men who are dead or in prison are the collateral damage of an ideology that says masculinity is about being strong and powerful. It’s just a social construct,” Swanson says. “Yes, men are in trouble in a lot of ways. As a society, we need to be concerned. The work men need to do can’t come at the expense of feminism and the good work feminism is doing.”

Less isolation, more connection. Less feeling of failure, more emotional availability. Understanding masculinity in terms of social class, race, gender identities and sexual orientation. These are some of Swanson’s goals for fostering men’s spirituality. He’s open to ideas, to partnerships and to other models of doing this work. This is just the beginning, he says. “I sure hope this ministry is not limited to my imagination.”

Pieta Woolley is a journalist in Powell River, B.C.

Pieta Woolley is a writer in Powell River, B.C.

Keep it free!

If you enjoy reading our online stories about ethical living, justice and faith, please make a donation to the Friends of The Observer Fund. Supporting our award-winning journalism will help you and others to continue to access ucobserver.org for free in the months to come.

Readers’ advisory: The discussion below is moderated by The UC Observer and facilitated by Intense Debate (ID), an online commentary system. The Observer reserves the right to edit or reject any comment it deems to be inappropriate. Approved comments may be further edited for length, clarity and accuracy, and published in the print edition of the magazine. Please note: readers do not need to sign up with ID to post their comments on ucobserver.org. We require only your user name and e-mail address. Your comments will be posted from Monday to Friday between 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Join the discussion today!

Announcement

by Observer Staff

Editorials

by David Wilson

A perfect send-off

Video

by Observer Staff

Anne Bokma left the Dutch Reformed Church as a young adult and eventually became a member of the United Church and then the Unitarian Universalists. Having long explored the "spiritual but not religious" demographic as a writer, she decided to immerse herself in practices — like hiring a soul coach, secular choir-singing and forest bathing — for 12 months to find both enlightenment and entertainment.

Is consciousness just a function of the brain — or something more?

Contact us

About the Observer

Founded in 1829, The United Church Observer is the oldest continuously published magazine in North America and the second oldest in the English speaking world. It has won international acclaim for journalistic excellence and garnered more awards for writing than any other Canadian religious publication. Read more...